Cartier Diarra

Cartier Ducati Diarra (born February 6, 1998) is an American college basketball player for the Virginia Tech Hokies of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Cartier Diarra
Diarra with Kansas State in 2020
No. 2 – Virginia Tech Hokies
PositionShooting guard
LeagueAtlantic Coast Conference
Personal information
Born (1998-02-06) February 6, 1998
Manhattan, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school
College

Early life and high school career

Diarra grew up in Harlem, New York, and broke his foot at the age of two. He was mainly raised by his mother, Danyelle Lee, alongside siblings Abraham, Cyncere and LadiRoyale, and rarely spoke to his father. Diarra grew up taking dancing lessons at Uptown Dance Academy. As a freshman, Diarra played basketball for Cardinal Hayes High School in The Bronx.[1] After one year, he transferred to West Florence High School in Florence, South Carolina, where he began living with his aunt, Lillian Shabazz.[2]

Diarra joined West Florence's varsity basketball team despite not having much organized basketball experience. As a sophomore, he averaged seven points and 3.7 rebounds per game.[1] Former National Basketball Association player Sharone Wright, whose son befriended Diarra, became his mentor and father figure.[3] As a junior, Diarra averaged 12.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game. In his senior season, he averaged 18.8 points, 11 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 3.6 steals and 2.1 blocks per game, registering eight triple-doubles.[2] Diarra was named The Morning News Player of the Year.[4]

College career

Kansas State

Diarra redshirted his first season at Kansas State after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament, bur recovered quickly and was able to practice with the team and add strength.[5] On November 10, 2017, he made his college debut, recording 13 points and four assists, shooting 4-of-4 from three-point range, in an 83–45 win over American.[6] Diarra initially came of the bench but began making an immediate impact as soon as he was placed in a starting role, after Kamau Stokes broke his left foot against Texas Tech on January 6, 2018.[7] On January 13, he scored a freshman season-high 18 points, including 16 in the second half, in a 73–72 loss to 12th-ranked Kansas.[8] As a freshman, Diarra averaged 7.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and two assists per game. He shot 40.5 percent from three-point range, the third-most by a freshman in program history.[9]

Diarra missed eight games of his sophomore season with a broken finger.[10] On March 15, 2019, at the 2019 Big 12 Tournament semifinals, he scored a season-high 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 63–59 loss to Iowa State.[2] As a sophomore, Diarra averaged 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.[9] On December 30, during his junior season, he was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, one day after scoring a career-high 25 points to go with seven assists and five rebounds in a 69–67 victory over Tulsa.[11] On January 18, 2020, Diarra scored 25 points for a second time, while posting six rebounds and four assists, in an 84–68 win over West Virginia.[12] As a junior, he averaged 13.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game.[9] On March 25, 2020, he announced that he would transfer from Kansas State.[13]

Virginia Tech

On March 31, 2020, Diarra committed to play for Virginia Tech in his senior season. He was immediately eligible as a graduate transfer.[14]

References
  1. Woods, Greg (November 10, 2017). "The life of Cartier Diarra: How a New York native found his way to the other Manhattan". The Manhattan Mercury. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  2. Moore, CJ (November 12, 2019). "The World According to Cartier Diarra". The Athletic. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  3. Regan, Brett (April 13, 2016). "Diarra's basketball journey steers him to K-State". KStateOnline. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  4. Chancey, Scott (March 20, 2016). "Boys Basketball Player of Year: West's Diarra credits slick moves on court to dancing background". The Morning News. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  5. Robinett, Kellis (October 20, 2017). "Bruce Weber sees bright future for K-State guard Cartier Diarra, when he dunks". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  6. Robinett, Kellis (November 10, 2017). "Kansas State throttles American 83-45 in season opener". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  7. Robinett, Kellis (January 28, 2018). "Cartier Diarra makes a name for himself as K-State point guard". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  8. Bisel, Tim (January 14, 2018). "K-State's Cartier Diarra becoming a name to remember — just ask Bill Self". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  9. "Cartier Diarra". K-State Athletics. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  10. Green, Arne (March 13, 2019). "Wade out, Diarra in for opener". The Pratt Tribune. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  11. Black, Ryan (December 31, 2019). "Kansas State guard Cartier Diarra wins Big 12 Player of the Week award". The Manhattan Mercury. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  12. Woods, Greg (January 18, 2020). "Cartier Diarra lost 7 turnovers against West Virginia, but his playmaking helped K-State win its 1st conference game". The Manhattan Mercury. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  13. Rocha, Taylor (March 25, 2020). "K-State junior guard Cartier Diarra enters transfer portal". KSNW. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  14. Arvin, Chris (March 31, 2020). "Virginia Tech lands transfer Cartier Diarra". 247Sports. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
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